Citation |
Commandeur, PR, Guy, BT, and Hamilton, H. 1996. The effects of woody debris on sediment fluxes in small coastal stream channels. Natural Resources Canada, Information Report BC-X-367. |
Organization |
NRCAN |
URL |
http://cfs.nrcan.gc.ca/publications?id=4711 |
Abstract/Description or Keywords |
Two first-order streams located on the south coast of British Columbia were studied to determine the role of woody debris in controlling the routing and storage of sediment within high gradient channels in logged areas. The removal of logging slash from one of the two channels resulted in a reduction in the trapping and storage of sediment compared to the control channel over a one-year period following logging. For the control, the steps created by the woody debris provided storage locations and reduced the transport of sediment, especially the larger sizes. About 37% of the sediment inputs were stored in the treated channel, whereas 66% of the sediment inputs were stored in the control channel. The remainder of the sediment inputs went through each channel. The sediment storage potential within the channels was limited, and in this study, the debris storage sites were filled in the first year following logging. Bedload (including some sediment transported in suspension but deposited within the weir/box) represented 30-35% of the total outputs for each channel. Over 90% of the bedload was finer than 2 mm for the control channel, whereas less than 40% consisted of particles finer than 2 mm for the treated channel. The role of woody debris in reducing stream sedimentation is briefly discussed. |
Information Type |
report |
Regional Watershed |
Howe Sound & Sunshine Coast |
Sub-watershed if known |
Ashlu |
Aquifer # |
|
Comments |
|
Project status |
|
Contact Name |
|
Contact Email |
|